


Eridan: Be the Moirail

by Luneth



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Eridan with Alpha Humans, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, OOC Roxy, One Shot, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3456356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luneth/pseuds/Luneth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“…Why?” He spoke quietly, “Why is that what you have to do, instead of staying to comfort her? Why does the Pink Diamond Prince have to run off now?”</p><p>“I am not a knight.” He forced each word from his tear-choked throat. “I am a prince. My place…is not at her side protectin her…It is trackin dowwn and destroyin the shit that did this.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eridan: Be the Moirail

**Author's Note:**

> This is my attempting to write something edgy and dramatic. I don't know if I succeeded. God I love moiralliance.  
> I decided to NOT write their typing quirks for this. Or at least use the correct grammar.

Eridan leaned his cheek against the doorway, staring through the crack into the dark room. His light sensitive eyes could easily pick out the crumpled shape by the bed. A mass of pale blonde hair, smothered against two arms pressed into the mattress while the rest of her form curled around the bed frame. She was only wearing a pair of black shorts and some bandages over her chest. He swallowed, remembering how he’d found her lying on the ground, glassy-eyed and covered in more blood than he had seen in a long time. Jane had patched up most of the wounds, but there wasn’t anything she could do for her mind. She didn’t move, but she wasn’t asleep. He could tell by the way her shoulders trembled faintly.

Roxy Lalonde, his moirail, had been seriously messed up.

He could feel the familiar burning in the pit of his stomach as he stepped away from the door. That burning that would spread up to the back of his eyes so he saw only hate. The burning that spread down to his hands and sped their movements. The burning that enveloped his heart until he couldn’t feel it anymore under the heat.

He had something to do.

His cape flared as he whirled around and started to stride down the hall. His wand appeared in his fist and immediately began to spark up with light. They would die. He would find them and **they would die.**

“Hey.”

He glanced backwards at the sound without stopping. No sooner had it registered the hallway behind him was empty that he ran into something. He leaped back and snapped his wand up. “Damn, you’re tense.” He lowered his weapon and glared at Dirk. Flash-stepping douchebag.

“A course I’m fuckin tense.” He snarled, “Get your pasty human ass outta my wway.” The human ignored the demand and stayed directly in his path, hands dug into his pockets.

“And where do you think you’re going right now?”

“Ain’t it fuckin **obvvious**?!” His knuckles turned white with the force he was gripping his wand. “They’re out there, Strider. The rancid sewwer scum that did this is out there and I’m gonna fuckin **murder** them.”

“Okay yeah,” He raised both his hands to indicate he calm down. “I get that reasoning, sort of, but you can’t go **now**.”

“Wwhat?!” He hissed. “This already almost nonexistent trail is getting colder by the second and you wwanna **wwait**!?”

“Dude,” He spoke very slowly, bringing his hands down with each word to enunciate the meaning. Roxy…she needs you now, okay?”

“…Wwhat…” He gave a low growl. The rage had reached his eyes and was making them flicker with dangerous energy. “…the FUCK are you talkin about?”

He sighed and ran his hand over his hair. “Don’t you think you should be with her right now? To comfort her?”

“NO!” He snapped his wand out again, “I should be out huntin dowwn the sack a shit that did this and blowwnin holes through their chest so get the FUCK out of my wway!” Dirk didn’t even blink, but regarded him calmly. Behind the shades it was impossible to tell if he was watching the wand or his face.

“…Why?” He spoke quietly, “Why is that what you have to do, instead of staying to comfort her? Why does the Pink Diamond Prince have to run off now?”

Eridan glared at him furiously, then inch by inch he forced his wand down again. He lowered his head, and when he brought it up again to meet Dirk’s eyes the anger raging behind his face had been replaced with a deep pain.

“ **I am not a knight**.” He forced each word from his tear-choked throat. “I am a **prince.** My place…is not at her side protectin her…It is trackin dowwn and **destroyin the shit that did this**.”

“No.” Dirk crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one foot, but didn’t move. “That’s not right, man. I’m a Prince too, and I know it’s not right.”

“Wwe aren’t the same!” He snarled, voice rising with his shoulders. “Killin is my thing. I killed lusii so fef wwouldn’t have to I killed for her and I’ll kill for rox too-”

“Roxy doesn’t want you to kill for her.” The loud words echoed through the hall. Eridan flinched back, then his shoulders dropped along with his head as he stared at the ground. Dirk lowered his voice back to normal. “You know that.”

“…I knoww.” He croaked. His wand slipped from his fingers to clatter on the ground. “I knoww you can’t fix everythin by destroyin but it’s all I can to do. I can’t just sit here I gotta do somethin or at least feel like I’m doin somethin. It’s gonna drive me crazy otherwise and if I’m gonna kill somethin it might as wwell be them.”

“…Hey.” Dirk took off his glasses. His bright orange eyes had their usual smoldering intensity. “I get it. I’m a Prince too. I see a problem and I want to eliminate it. I don’t try to work around it. I’m going to destroy it. It’s more straightforward. That’s how we work. And whoever did this is definitely a problem, but it’s not the immediate problem. The immediate problem is Roxy. And you aren’t just a Prince, you’re her moirail. So right now your place is with her. There’s a difference between going after the issue and running from another one.” Eridan just stared at him. “Get it?”

“…I guess.” He tossed his shoulders up in a quick shrug and examined a crack weaving its way along the wall. “I just don’t knoww howw I’d fix somethin like this.”

“Just go to her already. Drop some fish puns. What happened to “somefin” and “glub”?”

“This ain’t the time, idiot. I’ll just make it wworse.”

“For fuck’s sake you don’t even have to say anything. Just sit with her.”

“Howw wwill that help?”

Dirk sighed and closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again. “Okay, you think I know what exactly to do? I just know she likes to have you around. And if there’s a chance it will help for fuck’s sake would you mind giving it a try?”

“…Alright, fine.” He turned back, but not before shooting him another look. “…You’re really wworried for her.”

“Of course I am.” He frowned, “What’s the surprised look for?”

“…Nothin” He started walking back. It wasn’t like him, but Dirk must have forgotten how well trolls could see in dim light. He wouldn’t have taken his glasses off if he thought Eridan could see the red rims around his eyes.

When he peeked in through the door crack he found Roxy just as before. He closed his eyes and took a slow breath, then lightly nudged the door so he could creep in.

“Rox.” He let the name slip out with his next breath. She didn’t respond. He inched a bit closer. “Rox, hey.”

He knelt down beside her and gingerly tapped her shoulder. She shrieked and jolted up. Her hand flew out but phased right through his face as she tried to both hit him and disappear. He caught a glimpse of her face, the neon pink terror in her wide eyes, and felt his stomach harden into stone. No, not her. If only just her, one person who would never look at him like that.

“Rox.” His throat was so tight he could barely speak. He leaned in, desperation overriding his fear of being hit. “Rox It’s okay. I wwon’t hurt you, nevver you.”

She froze, then her hands dropped back down to the floor. She tilted her head to the side and her mouth moved but all that came out was a strangled squeak. She swallowed, then tried again.

“…Eri?”

“A course it’s-” He paused, then smacked his forehead. “Sorry, I’ll turn on the light.”

“No!” She snagged his shirt and dragged him back down again. “Don’t, just…” Her hands fumbled up his face to bump against his ear fins before snagging his horns. He tilted his head down and let her feel the familiar jagged shape.

“I didn’t mean to scare ya. I can never figure out wwhat light level-” He squawked as she rammed into him and flung her arms around his chest.

“Wwhoa, hey.” He fell silent at the broken sob that shook its way up her body. She was **crying**. He felt panic welling up in his throat. She was crying what was he supposed to do about this she was crying he didn’t know how to deal with crying he didn’t know how to deal with this.

He felt her shiver. Well his body was pretty cold even by troll standards. He pulled his cape over his head and tossed it over her, then wrapped on arm around her shoulders and leaned back.

He stared at the wall, feeling a growing sense of discomfort from her sobs. He ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to think of something to say. No words of comfort could form in his mind though, so he started humming. He coaxed a tune out from deep in his chest, then started to sing, softly.

 

_Far over the misty mountains cold_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old_

 

It was from some movie they had watched a few months ago. He had found the song soothing, and lyrics were simple enough he could remember them.

 

_We must away ere break of day_

_To find our long forgotten gold_

 

As he sang he remembered how, among piles of snacks, they had watched every movie in the series, after which Roxy had snatched one of his rings and, with a declaration of “mai precious” had slipped it on and used her powers to disappear. He remembered chasing her giggles and shouting about saving middle earth before wrestling it off her and tossing it into the bowl of salsa for good measure.

The memory brought a tiny smile to his lips as he finished the song. Roxy had stopped crying. She hiccuped, then sniveled and leaned away from him.

“Oh my goooood.” She wiped at her eyes with the cape. “I’m bein s-such a crybaby here”.

“Shh…” He pulled the cape tighter around her. “It’s alright. You got some nasty shit happen to ya, cray? But nofins gonna hurt you here. I’ll krill em. Got it?” She hiccupped again, then gave a faint smile.

“Y-Your fish puns’re so funny…” She leaned against his chest again. “Th-Thanks. Can you stay awhile?”

“…Yeah.” He nodded, “I’ll stay right here. Long as you need. Everyfin’s gonna be fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> The song Eridan is singing is "Over the Misty Mountains Cold" from The Hobbit.


End file.
